Sergio's Love Lost

Love hurts. Sergio Garica attributes his recent poor play to his breakup with Greg Norman’s daughter, Morgan. Garcia, 29, said he and Ms. Norman ended their relationship earlier this year. Perhaps that also explains his poor performance at the Masters and his critical comments about Augusta National, which he apologized for later. In seven PGA Tour events this year, Garcia has yet to finish in the top 10. But that might have more to do with his troublesome putter than his love life. Garcia ranks 114th in putting average and 167th in putts per round.

Hitting range balls while wondering whatever happened to Steve Opperman.

Stricker Gives Back

Here’s an example why Steve Stricker is considered one of the nicest guys on the PGA Tour. Stricker recently returned to his hometown of Edgerton, Wis. (population 5,183) to help raise funds for the Towne Country Club where he learned to play golf and other local charities. Gary D’Amato, the fine golf writer of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, reported that 500 people turned to watch Stricker present a golf clinic and then play 18 holes with people who won an auction for the right to play a hole with him. One resident paid $5,000 to play all 18 holes with Stricker, who was skeptical that anyone would pay to play with him. D’Amato reported the event raised $20,000 for the golf course, local food banks, and a kids program run by the police department.

Hitting range balls while wondering whatever happened to Scott Gutschewski.

Daly to Play in Memphis

John Daly and his clown pants will be back on the PGA Tour this summer. Daly, golf’s perennial bad-boy slash train wreck, said his six-month suspension is over and that he plans to play the St. Jude Championship in Memphis in three weeks on a sponsor’s exemption. He also will attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open. Daly said he also has an exemption to the Buick Open in July. PGA Tour Commissioner suspended Daly for six months after a series of on-course and off-course incidents. Daly has been playing on the European tour with modest success.

Hitting range balls while wondering whatever happened to Robin Freeman.

Amy Mickelson Diagnosed With Cancer

Phil Mickelson announced today that his wife, Amy, has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Mickelson said she will start treatment, including surgery, within the next two weeks. Mickelson also said he will leave the PGA Tour immediately. He was entered in the Byron Nelson Championship in Dallas this week and is the defending champion for the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial in Fort Worth next week. The Mickelsons, who were married in 1996, have three children.

Hitting range balls while wondering whatever happened to Sheri Steinhauer.

R.I.P. Bob Rosburg

Bob Rosburg, the former PGA champion who was the first network on-course golf announcer, died Thursday in California. Rosburg, 82, suffered a head injury in a fall and had been diagnosed with cancer. In addition to winning the 1959 PGA, Rosburg won six times on the PGA Tour. After retiring from the tour, Roone Arledge of ABC-TV hired him to rove the course during tournaments inspecting players’ lies and reporting, “He has no chance, no chance to get this ball close” in response to the usual question, “What’s he got, Rossie?” Rosburg grew up in San Francisco and as a 12-year-old, won the Olympic Club men’s championship be defeating baseball legend Ty Cobb.

Hitting range balls while wondering whatever happened to Steve Melnyk.

Tiger "Lefty" Woods

Did you happen to catch Tiger Woods hitting this shot left-handed at the Players Championship during Saturday's round? Woods hooked his drive into some pine trees on the 11th hole and his ball came to rest near a dead tree, which blocked him from taking his normal stance. So, he flipped his wedge upside down and swung at it left-handed. He had to get the ball up and carry a bunker 45 yards away. He hit the ball more than 110 hards -- left-handed with an upside down PW. Simply amazing.

Hitting range balls while wondering whatever happened to Paul Hahn.

Daly's Clown Pants

I guess it's approriate that John Daly is dressing like the clown that he has become. Check out these duds that he is sporting on the European Tour while he waits out the suspension imposed by PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem. I imagine he is getting paid to wear those pants and if so, it's an indication of how desperate he is for cash. Daly's personal life is a wreck and his golf game is wreck. he recently underwent a stomach lap-ban procedure and has lost an estimated 50 pounds. But judging from the recent photos, he still looks like a cross between the Michelin Man and the Pillsbury Doughboy.

Hitting range balls while wondering whatever happened to Robert Damron.

Dan Jenkins at The Majors

I am in the tank for Dan Jenkins. For my money, there is no better golf writer today than the former Texas sportswriter who wrote about golf and football for Sports Illustrated (and still pounds out columns for Golf Digest). His first golf novel, “Dead Solid Perfect,” is typical Jenkins – funny, irreverent, and full of great lines. His other golf yarns, “The Money Whipped Steer-Job Three-Jack Give-Up Artist” and “The Franchise Babe,” are equally fun. But Jenkins also is a great reporter who had the good fortune of starting his journalism career by covering Ben Hogan in his hometown of Fort Worth. Jenkins has covered virtually every major championship for the past 60 years and now has published those stories in a collection called “Jenkins at the Majors.” Want to read about Hogan’s U.S. Open win at Oakland Hills in 1951? It’s in the book. Tiger’s first Masters win? In the book. I enjoyed revisiting the historic tournaments such as Arnold Palmer’s come from behind victory in the U.S. Open at Cherry Hills in 1960 and the King’s colossal collapse in the same event in 1966 at Olympic in San Francisco. Jenkins chronicled the arrival of John Daly at Crooked Stick and recounted Ben Crenshaw’s emotional Masters victory in 1995 after the death of his mentor Harvey Penick. Jenkins, who always loved lists, includes his All-Star Golf Team for every club in the bag and features a top 10 leader board for every major included in the collection. This is a great read for golf fans.

Hitting range balls while wondering whatever happened to George Cadle.